L12040

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Lot 117
  • 117

Johan Thopas

Estimate
12,000 - 15,000 GBP
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Description

  • Johan Thopas
  • Portrait of Godert Dircksz. Kerckrinck (1577-1645)
  • Black lead, grey and black wash, on two sheets of vellum, the portrait oval, laid down on a second sheet of vellum with the drawn so-called Lutma frame;
    inscribed in brown ink, bottom centre: Gothardus Kerckrinck Theodori / F  and indistinctly numbered in black chalk, lower right: 46 (?)

Provenance

A.J. Nijland;
sale, Amsterdam, R.W.P. de Vries, 1909;
sale, Amsterdam, Sotheby Mak van Waay, 19 April 1982, lot 21 (purchased by the present owner)

Condition

Main portrait slightly rubbed in background, centre right and lower left. Some small whitish spots in black of cloak. A few minor spots towards edges of backing sheet. Decorative paper border fixed to backing sheet around edges, and fragments of old manuscript attached to edges of verso. Overall condition good.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

The sitter, who was born in Lübeck, established a successful company on the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam, trading with Italy.1  Thopas was a specialist in this type of portrait drawing, often setting his images within decorative drawn frames of this type, the design of which has sometimes been credited to the silversmith, Jan Lutma. 

The artist also made portraits of several other members of the present sitter's family.  His drawing of Godert's wife Cornelia was in the Perman Collection, Stockholm,2 and that of their son Dirck is in the Albertina, Vienna.  Another portrait of Theodorus Bas, possibly Dirck's father-in-law, was sold at Sotheby's in Amsterdam in 1997 (11 November, lot 106).

1. J.E. Elias, De Vroedschap van Amsterdam 1578-1795, 1903, vol. I, pp. 916 & 1273, vol. II, p. 149
2.  W. Bernt, Die Niederländischen Maler und Zeichner des 17. Jahrhunderts, V, Munich 1980, no. 565